Reward For Return Of Violin Left On Train At Bedwyn

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

Sorry to resurrect this rather ancient topic, but I did get a sense of deja vu when I read this story, in the Oxford Mail:

A quick snooze costs ^110,000

Antique violin bows worth ^110,000 were stolen after an Oxford musician nodded off on a train.

Peter Oxley, from Headington, is now offering a ^5,000 reward for their safe return.

The 49-year-old bow-maker and restorer was travelling with 11 bows on a train between London^s Liverpool Street and Ipswich last week.

The bows ^ which are insured ^ belonged to collectors who had given them to Mr Oxley to restore and look for buyers.

Mr Oxley said: ^It^s fair to say that I am gutted and devastated. Most of the bows are incredibly rare. Some are documented with the best accredited certificates. I have no doubt that they were stolen, probably by an opportunistic thief who saw I was asleep and thought they were easy pickings.^

The most valuable piece was a rare Pierre Simon bow made in France in 1870 and worth ^35,000.

Mr Oxley only realised they had gone after he got off in Ipswich. He said: ^It had been a rather long day and I dozed off around Colchester. All of a sudden I woke up when the train was already on the platform at Ipswich. I was in a bit of a panic, because I knew I had to get a connecting train to Bury St Edmunds just three minutes later. I just grabbed my briefcase and travel bag and jumped off. It was only when I settled on my other train and it moved off that I came to my senses properly and realised I did not have my bow case.^

Mr Oxley contacted railways staff at Norwich, the final destination of the train he had caught from London who searched the train once it arrived, but there was no sign of the bows. He said: ^On reflection, I think the case had already been stolen when the train arrived at Ipswich.^

The bows were in a brown case.

Mr Oxley said: ^The thief probably thought it was a case containing billiard cues or perhaps a gun. My worst fear is that he will just destroy the bows by throwing them in a ditch.^

Dc Alan Reed, of British Transport Police, who is investigating what happened, said: ^While these are extremely valuable items, it would be extremely difficult to sell them on to a third party. Anyone who works in the antiques trade or musical instrument business is asked to contact us if they are approached by anyone selling items that match the bows^ description.^

Dc Reed can be contacted on 0800 405040.

[Chris from Nailsea]

An update, from the Oxford Mail:

Top dog Angel finds Oxford man's stolen bows

An inquizitive dog has been hailed a hero after sniffing out antique violin bows worth ^110,000 stolen from an Oxford man as he slept on a train.

Nine-year-old former racing greyhound Angel earned her owner Chris Laflin a reward of ^5,000 by sniffing out the case containing the 11 bows.

Father-of-three Mr Laflin, 40, at first thought they were worthless items which had been dumped in the undergrowth in Bourne Park, Ipswich.

Friends told him later a local newspaper had reported that the historic bows had earlier been stolen from Oxford musician Peter Oxley, 49, as he dozed on a train.

Mr Laflin, a handyman at a steel fabrication business has now handed the violin bows to British Transport Police so they can be returned to Mr Oxley later this week.

Angel stumbled across the brown violin bow case stuffed inside a black bin liner on her daily walk as dusk fell last Wednesday.

Mr Laflin has likened his pet to mongrel dog Pickles who found the stolen Jules Rimet trophy in a garden in Norwood, south London, before the 1966 World Cup.

He said: ^Angel is inquisitive like any other dog and is always sniffing around when we go out for a walk. She looked across at this case which was just lying in the undergrowth and my attention was drawn to it just as it was getting dark. I didn^t take much notice at first, but as we passed it for a second time on our way home, I thought I would pick it up even though it looked like rubbish. When I opened it up at home, I saw all these really old violin bows. There was no paperwork to say where they had come from. I assumed they were virtually worthless and stuck the case in my shed. My wife Toni told me they just looked tatty.

^I was planning to make enquiries to find out if anyone had lost them, but I did not round to it because I was having a hectic week. It was only when I mentioned to workmates on Monday that they told me about the newspaper and story and I realised just how valuable they were. I^m still shaking because I can^t believe I found something worth so much. It is just like when the missing World Cup was found by a dog."

Mr Laflin now plans to spend his reward money on a family holiday next year and some special treats for Angel.

Mr Oxley, 49, who is one of Britain^s leading bow makers and restorers was travelling with the bows from London^s Liverpool Street Station to Ipswich when they disappeared on October 4. He believes an opportunistic thief saw he was asleep and stole the case from an overhead luggage rack before jumping off the train.

Most of the French and English bows which dated back to 1820 were owned by collectors who had left them in his care for restoration or to see if he could find a buyer for them. The most valuable was a rare Pierre Simon bow made in 1870 and worth ^35,000.

Mr Oxley said: ^It is fantastic news that they have been found and I am delighted that I will be getting them back soon. I will certainly be paying the reward to this gentleman once I get the bows back this week and the police confirm that he was the genuine finder. I hope that he buys a nice big bone for his dog.^